


In the Presence of Truth

by scullyslash_archivist



Category: The X-Files
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 1998-05-31
Updated: 1998-05-31
Packaged: 2018-11-20 04:00:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 16,599
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11328186
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scullyslash_archivist/pseuds/scullyslash_archivist
Summary: A new agent, Sue Kennedy, is assigned to work on the X-Files. Mulder thinks she's a spy, Scully thinks she's intriguing.





	In the Presence of Truth

**Author's Note:**

> Note from alice ttlg, the archivist: this story was originally archived at [ScullySlash](http://fanlore.org/wiki/Scully_Slash_Archive), which moved to the AO3 to ensure the stories are always available and so that authors may have complete control of their own works.. To preserve the archive, I began manually importing its works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project in June 2017. I e-mailed all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator, please contact me using the e-mail address on [ScullySlash's collection profile](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/scullyslash/profile).

 

In the Presence of Truth by Spooky Bear

In the Presence of Truth  
by Spooky Bear

* * *

***WARNING! NC-17 rating. This is slash f/f. Scully with another woman. It also has M/Sk references. If this kind of thing offends you, or you are underage - go away.***

**Usual comments, these characters belong to Chris Carter and 1013, except for Sue Kennedy. I'm not making any money, nor intend to, off of this. It's just fan fiction.**

* - There is a reference in this story to a previous piece of my m/m slash fan fiction called "I Want to Believe." Although it's not crucial to this story, you may want to read it to fill in all of the details. The reference is marked with the asterisk in parenthesis (*). References to its sequel "I Want to Believe II" are marked with the double asterisk (**).

Special Thanks to Susan, my "twin sister", for inspiring me to write a story about Scully involved with another woman, and for helping out with all the molecular genetic stuff. Oh yeah, Sue Kennedy is based off of her also - OK, Sue Kennedy *IS* Susan, kinda. Keep up the smiles and love sis, one day you'll find your own Scully.

Special agents Dana Scully and Fox Mulder stared at their boss, Assistant Director Walter Skinner, as if he had just grown a second head. The AD looked extremely uncomfortable and agitated at his revelation.

"What?!" Mulder shouted, "How can you do this?"

"This isn't my choice or doing, Agent Mulder. I'm under orders from the Senior Director himself. Another agent is being assigned to work with you and Agent Scully on the X-Files." Skinner sighed heavily and took his glasses off. He rubbed the bridge of his nose, a sign that he was under duress. Scully watched the look of concern cross Mulder's face for his lover. Skinner obviously wished he hadn't had to divulge this information himself. "All I know is that she'll be here later this afternoon and that you are being asked to have a space prepared for her."

"Her?" Mulder asked rudely. His tone made Scully glare at him. It almost sounded sexist.

"Yes, her," Skinner said. He sounded very tired, as if he had been through this argument a hundred times before. It had been a rough Friday morning. "Special Agent Sue Kennedy." Mulder's head jerked up at the name. "I see you recognize the name."

Sue Kennedy had just written a very controversial paper on genetic theories that had the scientific and UFO communities in an uproar. She had managed to piss off everyone with her theories that certain genetic traits were extra-terrestrial. Mulder had been both shocked and impressed by it. "Didn't she just graduate from Quantico?" he asked. No matter how brilliant she may be, having a fresh agent around was always a pain in the ass.

"Yes, she did. She graduated with some of the highest honors on record. In fact," Skinner said sardonically, "she almost knocked your record down a notch, Agent Mulder. She would have probably surpassed you if she hadn't managed to anger so many of her instructors." Scully looked at her partner in surprise when he didn't retort to the barb. He looked deep in thought.

Scully didn't know who this Sue Kennedy was, but whatever happened, she would probably make life around Mulder more interesting. "Why is she being assigned to us, sir?" she asked. Most people, especially promising young agents, avoided their division like the plague.

"I'm glad you asked Agent Scully," the AD said, "because I really don't know. I'm being kept in the dark about this as much as you are."

"I can theorize that it may have something to do with her family connections; she is a Kennedy. Or, it can be that she requested it. Whatever the case may be, the Senior Director has approved it, and his word is law around here." Mulder still said nothing, looking into space. "She will be here today at 1300 hours, so be ready for her." Scully nodded and got up to leave, taking that as a dismissal. Mulder silently followed her.

Before they reached the door, Skinner interrupted them. "Oh, and there will be some construction going on in your office over the next few weeks." Both agents looked at him questioningly. "The approval to expand your office space has been approved after four years of trying, and new desks and equipment are on their way." Scully straightened up on hearing the news. Finally she would have her own desk! And all it took was years of complaining and a Kennedy moving in to grant her wish.

* * *

In a rare occurrence, Mulder actually joined Scully for lunch in the Bureau cafeteria. He normally avoided the crowded room for the sake of a quieter place with fewer people snickering behind his back. Although he pretended to let the insults and jibes role off of his back, Scully knew that they hurt him deeply. Sometimes the Bureau reminded her of junior high school with its bullies and stupid cliques. And like being back in school, she found herself with the "oddball" crowd. The ones no one wanted to be around socially, but always came to when there was a problem.

"So, you've been awfully quiet about our new partner, Mulder," Scully said, hoping to get him to talk. He hadn't mentioned it since they left Skinner's office.

"Well," he started, "you're going to think I've jumped off the deep end again with my conspiracy theories, but I think she's a plant. And before you even make some wisecrack about it, I can back up my theory."

Scully smirked. "The king of smart-ass remarks is accusing me making a wisecrack before I even think to do so?" she said. Mulder just gave her one of his classic looks. She stuck her tongue out at him. "So what theory do you have."

Mulder leaned across the table and whispered, "I think that this whole story of her pissing off instructors etc. is a sham. I think it's a carefully disguised plan to make me believe she may actually be on our side. Her goal is to infiltrate us, make believe she one of us, and then expose our findings to the Consortium." He sat back down and calmly took a bite out of his sandwich.

"That's it?" Scully asked incredulously. Mulder had to have more. Even on a bad day he didn't spew off half-baked theories as horrible as the one she just heard come out of his mouth. She fervently hoped he had more. If he didn't, she was going to check her partner into the nearest psychiatric ward for evaluation.

"Oh no," Mulder said, "there's a whole lot more." Scully waited for the revelation to come. She hated when Mulder strung these things out for shock effect. "You see, they tried this approach with Krycek once already but it failed because I saw right through him. This time around, they are figuring that I wouldn't believe that they'd be so stupid as to try the same thing again. But I'm ready for them again. The fact they are sending a woman also proves that they think I'd be more vulnerable to a woman. Maybe they're hoping for her to become romantically involved with me or something." Scully snorted at that. If that were the case, the Consortium would be waiting for a *very* long time. She knew how much her partner was wrapped up in his lover, Skinner. For all intents and purposes, the two were married. Mulder suddenly taking a romantic interest in a woman would be a miracle.

"Do you have any proof?" Scully asked. "So far all I've heard are more theories, surely you found something that made you start thinking this way."

"Not yet," he said, "but I plan to do some serious searching later on."

She frowned at him, "so what you're saying is that you've pre-judged this woman based on your feelings and not on any facts."

"Just trusting my instincts Scully. They are usually very accurate," he retorted, standing up to leave. "They don't call me Spooky for nothing," he said intentionally loud. At the mention of his infamous, unwanted nickname, he caught the attention of several people sitting around them in the cafeteria. They quickly turned away again when they realized it was Mulder himself who had said it. Mulder snickered derisively at this and headed back to the office.

Scully finished the rest of her lunch aware of the whispers and comments about her and Mulder's conversation. The rumor mill would be active again concerning the Special Agents of the X-Files.

* * *

The woman that walked in the door with Skinner was not at all how Scully had imagined her. She had imagined Sue Kennedy to be a tall, authoritative woman of striking beauty based on her reputation. What she turned out to be was a short, rounded, pleasant looking woman who appeared to be perfectly harmless. She had long dishwater blond hair that was pulled back into a French braid and twinkling blue eyes. If seen on the street, she would probably have been mistaken for a schoolteacher. She had a sweet, innocent smile that came naturally when she spoke and a kind, soft voice. Not at all what Scully had been expecting. She took an instant liking to the woman.

Mulder on the other hand, hung back and acted like a caged animal protecting his territory. Skinner pretended to ignore it, but Scully knew the two of them would be discussing it later on.

The two women chatted about nothing in particular for a while after the AD left, comparing stories about Quantico and certain instructors. All the while, Mulder said nothing. Scully was getting annoyed with her partner. There were times he could be an insufferable ass, and this was one of those times. Even if his wild theories were true, it was no excuse for rudeness.

"It's a little cramped in here for two agents, let alone three," Sue said surveying the room crammed full of Mulder's stuff. She walked around as much as possible, looking at all of his posters, pictures and paraphernalia that crowded the walls. He watched every move she made, prepared to leap into action if she even so much as breathed wrong.

"We got word today that they're going to knock down a wall or two and open this area up," Scully said. "Hopefully they will install heat next." If Sue did have the ear of someone higher up, she might just be able to get the heat fixed. Scully was sick of freezing to death every winter.

"There's no heat down here?" Sue asked incredulously. Scully nodded. The woman continued to look around.

"Wow!" she exclaimed, "you actually have a picture of the Washington State Christmas tree crop circle. (*) Do you know how hard these are to come by?" That got Mulder's attention.

"I certainly hope I have one," he said, "I took the damn thing." A hint of pride crept into his voice. Despite his trying, he was beginning to warm up to her. He reached into the filing cabinet and pulled out the X-File on the incident.

"This is incredible," Sue said, "this information is impossible to find. I searched for weeks for any pictures or statements for my personal files but came up empty, and I never come up empty."

Mulder stared at her. "There are certain forces at work in our government that don't like these kinds of things getting out to the public," he said. "I was allowed to keep these because I threatened to go to the press if they took them away. I've made copies and hidden them to ensure their cooperation." Scully remembered the incident all to well. Mulder had really pissed off the Consortium with that one. He had been forced to strike an unholy deal with the Cigarette Smoking Man(**); the details of which Scully had never been made privy to. Mulder refused to talk about it at all. When Scully asked Skinner if he knew anything about it, his face went cold and he clammed up. She'd given up on trying to find out what had really occurred.

"Jeez," Sue said, "you're really paranoid, aren't you?" Mulder just flashed an I-told-you-so look at Scully and went back to his silent brooding. Things had already gotten off to a horrible start and the day wasn't over yet.

* * *

Later that evening, Scully's phone rang. She debated on picking it up or not. She knew it was Mulder. It seemed that the only two people who ever called her were her mother and Mulder. Out of the two, her mother had better timing.

"Yes, Mulder," she answered.

"Christ, Scully," Mulder said on the other end, "you've become a mind reader."

"Something like that," she said, "what do you want Mulder. It's late and I'm tired." She wasn't really, but she didn't want to listen to Mulder whine right now. He had irritated her enough for one day.

"I just called to ask you over for dinner tomorrow night." That raised her curiosity. She knew of Skinner and Mulder's relationship, had become rather involved as a friend with it once or twice, but they rarely interacted on a social level. "At Walter's apartment. Do you remember where?" Curiouser and curiouser. Yes, she remembered. She promised to come.

As she hung up the phone, she wondered about the sudden invitation.

* * *

"Is she coming?" Walter asked after Fox hung the phone up.

"Yeah, she'll be here," the younger man said, "she's pissed that I called her so late again." He'd been trying to respect his partner's private life at Walter's insistence. But, old habits die hard and Fox found himself calling her frequently anyway.

"If that's out of the way, we can get back to work." They were doing research into Sue Kennedy's past and trying to find out why she had been assigned tot he X-Files. Walter was as curious as Fox was in this matter because as long as Ms. Kennedy was around, they had to be extra careful with their relationship. So, both men at their respective computers searched various sources for any information to be found. While Walter searched the more formal channels, Fox searched the Internet, various Bulletin Board services and conspiracy groups. Where Walter turned up very little information, Fox's computer was regularly beeping with e-mail responses and positive feedback. It made Walter seriously doubt relying on official channels for anything. It was hardly the proper attitude for an Assistant Director of the FBI to have.

When they both decided to end for the evening, Fox's pile of information put Walter to shame. "Don't worry Walter," Fox reassured him, "remember, I've been circumventing the official channels for years. I'm very practiced with it by now." Somehow, that didn't make Walter feel any better.

* * *

Scully was greeted by her boss, no make that her friend, at the door. They had a standing agreement that, outside the job, they referred to each other by first name. It made it easier to keep their social and work lives separate. Walter always looked more relaxed at home. His usual stony expression replaced with a happy one. She was amazed at how different he looked in normal clothing. She had to admit, Walter was a very handsome man. Leave it to Mulder to have only the best.

Scully hadn't been to his apartment in a long time and was shocked to see how cluttered it had become. The result of Mulder's presence, she figured. The front room had been turned into a work area, complete with computers and files. To Scully's eye, it appeared to be a continuation of their office.

"Sorry about the mess," Walter said, seeing the look in her eyes. "We've been a little busy doing research lately."

"You know, you're supposed to stop doing work when you leave the office," she said. She had hoped that since Mulder and Walter had found each other, that they would get a life.

"Some research can't be done under the ever watchful eyes of the Bureau." He was beginning to sound as bad as Mulder. "Anyway, this project has to do with your new partner, Ms. Kennedy. I'm not at all comfortable with they way she was sprung on us. Normally I get some warning when a new agent is due to be assigned. We weren't even budgeted for one, so the whole thing makes me more than nervous."

"Don't give away all the secrets yet Walter," Mulder said, coming out of the kitchen. "We don't want Scully to leave before dinner."

Seeing Mulder with a ladle in his hands had Scully very worried. "You're not actually letting him cook are you?" she asked Walter.

"I've been teaching him how to cook something more than TV dinners," Walter joked. Dana and Walter laughed. Fox was known for his poor eating habits. Mulder shot them both a nasty look and walked back into the kitchen. "Oops," Walter said, "I think I hurt his feelings. He has really been trying lately." Walter left Dana in the front room as he went to check on Fox's bruised ego. Dana smiled as he left. She really loved to see those two together. It calmed her to see how happy they were with each other.

Now if only she could find someone. She was tired of being alone.

Much to her surprise, Scully was impressed with Mulder's dinner. It was not only delicious but healthy as well. She complimented him and was pleased to see him blush slightly. Was this the same man she worked with daily for the past four and a half years?

After dinner Dana sat down to look at what they had come up with about Sue Kennedy. The official records on her were shining but brief. She had graduated from high school at the age of 15 with honors, moved on to college where she majored in psychology, physics and molecular genetics. After obtaining an MS in molecular genetics she took a year off from school before being approached by the FBI recruitment team. Her stay at Quantico was turbulent yet she still managed to graduate with honors. All of her instructors, from high school on, said the same thing about her - brilliant yet confrontational. Her interest in "non-traditional" theories and studies often led to arguments with her instructors.

Fox's findings were more in depth. Sue had been born to Roger and Lydia Kennedy, cousins of the politically involved Kennedy clan. She had been an outspoken child whose teachers had constantly complained of her outbursts. Her school records showed many discussions about her disruptive behavior. She had been arrested for a protest over the apparent government cover-up of the Gulf War Syndrome. She had been fired from two jobs for insubordination and had been put on probation by the FBI Academy three times for failing to follow procedure. She was single, had only been on two "official" dates, and had rebuffed almost every advance that came her way. She liked science fiction and horror novels, preferred alternative music and had a taste for Asian food. Her clothes were good quality but not expensive, she drove a Suzuki Sidekick, had four credit cards and paid her bills on time.

She was also an experienced internet surfer. Fox had traced her favorite locations. She frequented the MUFON and SETI sites on a regular basis and browsed many other well known UFO and paranormal sites. She was also not shy about what kinds of nightclubs she liked to frequent. Many of her credit card purchases were made in a bar called "The Other Side", a bar located in the middle of the D.C. area "gay ghetto". Recently it had become a chic place for young up-and-comers of all persuasions to hang out.

"She's not at all afraid to admit that she's a lesbian when asked. I was surprised to find that not mentioned anywhere in the official records though. The Bureau is still pretty much of an old boys club. I could find out a lot more if I decided to do some real digging," Mulder said. Lesbian. The word bounced around in Scully's mind and for some unknown reason, made her excited. Scully could tell by Mulder's tone that he was quite pleased with his success. She could see why, he had found out an incredible amount of information in only a few hours.

"Any clue as to why she suddenly got dumped on us?" she asked. Mulder's face fell, for all of his searching, he hadn't come any closer to answering that question. "Then it is entirely possible that her arrival is completely innocent."

"Possible yes, probably, no," Walter said. "Dana, you've been with the Bureau long enough to know procedures. Have you ever heard of a fresh agent being dumped into a special field with no field testing first? Or have you ever known the government to suddenly put someone on a low priority assignment such as the X-Files when there has been no budget approval to do so?" Dana had to admit she had never seen instances like these.

"Not only has another agent been assigned," Walter continued, "but suddenly your offices are being revamped. Although your requests to have this done were passed on, no formal proposal was ever written. I've been with the Bureau for a long time, and before that, in the Marines. The U.S. Government, or any of it's branches, never throws money at projects like this without a myriad of paperwork. I asked to see that paperwork and was told there was none. I checked every source I know of to find anything that showed approval and found nothing. Not one scrap." He sighed and sat down on the couch. "This leads me to believe that the funding for this is coming from an outside source."

"But who could have the power to do something like this?" Dana asked. It would take someone extremely powerful to be able to tamper with the FBI headquarters at all. Even as she asked the question, Dana knew in the pit of her stomach exactly who could be responsible.

"Who else, but the Consortium," Mulder said, voicing her own suspicion.

"Do we have anything, anything at all, that links her with them?" Dana asked. She hated the idea of condemning someone based on suspicion only, even if that suspicion was very heavy. For all she knew, Sue Kennedy could be an unwitting pawn in this game. Dana liked her, and she liked to trust her own feelings on who was for or against them. She didn't have Mulder's uncanny ability for knowing things, but she did have her own instincts, and Mulder was not always right. He had been proven wrong enough for Dana to know that his ability was fickle.

"No obvious ones, but I can assure you, I'll be checking some more," Mulder said. "Something about her just doesn't set right with me."

"It couldn't just be that you feel a little jealous that someone may move in on your territory." Dana hated playing hardball with him, but as his partner, she felt it necessary to be the Devil's advocate at times. He tended to jump to conclusions too soon.

"I was wary of you when you were first assigned Scully," Mulder said. "But it wasn't jealousy." He was annoyed that she had even brought it up. Why on earth would he be jealous of Sue Kennedy?

"No, you weren't jealous of me, but I was, and still am, a skeptic," Dana said. "Sue Kennedy is a believer in many of the same things you are. I just want to make sure that your head is clear Mulder. She may be just as much a pawn as we are, and not have any idea as to what is happening around her." The expression on Mulder's face was stony. Dana sighed. He could be so damned stubborn sometimes. "I just think we should give her a chance before we jump to conclusions."

Both men were silent. They exchanged glances between them. Dana thought that if reading peoples minds, or carrying on conversations silently were possible, Mulder and Walter were doing so right now. She had witnessed that kind of communication between her parents and several other couples in the past. She believed that when two people became very close, subtle facial and body gestures took the place of words after a while. There was nothing extraordinary about it, just learning another human being very well.

"All right Dana," Walter said, "until we either have more concrete evidence, or she does something suspicious, we'll treat her like any other new agent. Fair enough?" Dana nodded. He turned to Fox and asked him the same. Mulder grudgingly agreed.

"But if she touches any of my stuff again, I'll take her arms off," he said. Dana rolled her eyes. It was the best arrangement she was going to get for now.

* * *

Scully walked into the office on Monday with some trepidation. She hoped that Mulder would live up to his agreement because she didn't want to deal with any difficulties today. Sue Kennedy was waiting outside of the basement office looking very nervous and upset. She didn't fit what Dana expected a lesbian to look like. She expected something more...butch. Sue didn't fit the butch bill, but Scully didn't have a lot of experience with homosexuality with the exception of Walter and Mulder. Dana briefly wondered why she hadn't gone inside but figured that she probably didn't have a key. Mulder kept the door locked, too much evidence had gone missing before.

"What's the matter?" Dana asked. It was natural for new agents to be edgy but she had seemed so relaxed on Friday that Dana was surprised to see otherwise.

"It's nothing. Just..." Sue paused looking around, "do you two get people making rude comments about you all the time?" The question disconcerted Scully. She had been hearing the comments and snickers for so long now that she ignored them. She admitted to herself that they bothered her at first also and that she had been very shocked to know how her peers felt about the work she and Mulder did. She thought back to her first few days working with Mulder. Some of her so-called friends had shown their true colors with their mockery.

"Yes," she admitted. "We seem to be the butt end of a lot of jokes because of the work we do. Why?"

"I got stopped on my way down here this morning and asked how I liked working with Mr. And Mrs. Spooky," Sue said. "Then everyone around laughed liked it was the funniest thing." Dana could see that Sue was very distressed by this. "I told them that I didn't think it was very funny, that they just didn't understand or comprehend the kind of work you deal with."

"Then," she continued, "one of the guys turned to the others and said, 'Well, I guess Mulder's got his own little Spookette now.'" Sue's voice began to shake. "It made me so angry. They just all sat there and laughed." Dana's heart went out to the woman standing beside her. Sue's eyes were bright with unshed tears. "I didn't realize it was going to be like this."

Scully unlocked the door to the office and let Sue inside saying, "I don't know what to say really, I can't stop them from making comments. Thankfully we don't spend a lot of time around the others. Just remember, you're not alone. Out of all of us, Mulder gets the worst of it. Not that that makes it any better."

"He doesn't like me," Sue said. It wasn't a question, but a statement of fact.

"I wouldn't say that," Scully said, "he doesn't trust anyone and it makes him seem unsociable." She knew what Sue said was true, but she wasn't going to confirm it. Let Mulder do his own dirty work. If he wanted to let Sue know how he felt, that was his business. Until that time, Scully was going to try to keep things balanced.

* * *

Later that week, the three agents came out of the AD's office thinking about the case they had just been handed. A Senator's body had been found floating in the river at 6:10am this morning. The preliminary autopsy report showed she had died approximately five days prior and had been in the water for at least four days. But, she had been seen alive and well the night before at a party. Several witnesses, including the Senator's husband interacted with her.

Her husband swore that she left for work this morning at her usual time of 6:30am, a full twenty minutes after her body was allegedly found. So far though, her supposed double had not been found anywhere else. The case had the local authorities very confused. They had requested help. Due to the fact that it was a Senator, they didn't have to wait long before the FBI intervened. Regular channels sped up when a politician was involved.

It had been arranged that Scully would perform a more extensive autopsy on the body. She was on her way with Mulder and Sue to the examination room when she asked Mulder if he had anything in the files resembling this case.

"We have hundreds of reports of doppelgangers, look-alikes and clones Scully, which ones do you want?" he asked. He was being unusually obtuse. Normally he had specific cases in mind, or at least theories. Scully attributed his general response to Sue's presence. She looked him in the eye and silently expressed that she didn't appreciate his unwillingness to communicate openly.

"Let's examine the body first, " he relented, "then I'll see if it bears a resemblance to anything specific. Right now I don't have enough information to go on." She agreed. Sue quietly followed them, aware of how her presence made Agent Mulder feel uncomfortable.

* * *

"Subject is a 54 year old Caucasian female, height approximately 5'4", weight 135 pounds," Scully said into her recorder. "Elevated cardiac enzymes and a complete occlusion of the coronary artery indicates subject died of heart failure. The bloated appearance, decay of the eyes and degradation of the soft tissues indicates subject has been in the water for approximately four days. Time of death has been set at approximately 11:00pm, April 17th." She shut off the recorder and turned to Mulder and Sue. "I'm not finding anything that the preliminary report overlooked Mulder." Her partner appeared deep in thought. "The DNA testing has come back. Both the fingerprints and the DNA prove that this woman is Senator Jane Harley."

"Could the records have been faked?" he asked.

"I don't see how," Scully said, "or why anyone would want to do so. It would be an awful lot of trouble. Anyway, she died of natural causes. You aren't suggesting she was murdered are you?"

"Not yet," Mulder said cryptically. He had a case from a few years ago that had shown an apparent double being murdered. A man had killed his look alike so that he could assume the dead man's identity. The murderer had switched records with his victim to begin a new life under a new name. He would have gotten away with it had he not missed the DNA records. His double had DNA testing because he had a rare disease. It wasn't something that one usually could find in common records. It was later proven that the man was not who he was claiming to be.

"Mulder, this woman's lungs were flat which shows that she didn't drown. It's pretty obvious from the pathology that she died of heart failure and probably fell into the river." Scully said. Why did he have to turn everything into an unexplained event.

"Did the DNA sequencing match exactly or was it only the RFLP analysis?" Sue asked. Mulder looked at her in shock. Was it possible that she was thinking the same thing he was? He'd have to wait and see. He wasn't about to voice his theory in front of the new agent. He'd wait until he got Scully alone.

"I don't know, but I'll check into it," Scully said. It wasn't an unusual question coming from a molecular geneticist. "Would you help me out?" she asked. Scully knew quite a bit about DNA analysis, but it wasn't her field of expertise. Sue agreed to help while Mulder went back to the office to do some checking of his own.

With Mulder gone, Sue relaxed and began talking more. Scully was glad. It had been a long time since she was in the company of another woman other than her mother. She missed the conversations that women had when men weren't around. She became so tired of hearing about the latest ball game or other sport that she wanted to scream.

It was also refreshing to talk to someone about pathology who understood. Sue was a bright woman and Scully found that she wanted to talk to her more. She had enjoyed her teaching days as Quantico because the students were always searching for ways to look at things in a new light. Sue reminded her of these students.

The two women took some blood samples from the body so that Sue could run some more in depth studies. She had explained to Scully that although the RFLP analysis was good, it wasn't an in depth look. She wanted to get a better look to make sure that the body they found was indeed Senator Harley's.

In the lab, Sue had taken the blood sample and put it on a sequencing gel to study it. She also took a blood sample of a donation that Senator Harley had made at the local blood bank three weeks ago and performed the same procedure. She then took the gels of both tests and compared them to the gel in the Senator's file. After looking at them for several hours, Sue was disappointed to find that they did in fact match exactly. She had been hoping to find something strange, or slightly unusual. All she had found was that the Senator had a fragile site on the P arm of the X chromosome. It was unusual, but it matched on all three gels.

Scully sensed Sue's disappointment and suggested that they call it a night.

"So what does Special Agent Scully do for fun after work?" Sue asked.

Scully swallowed hard and was reluctant to answer her. "Uh, nothing really," she said. "I don't go out much. Why?"

"I though that if you were up for it, we could go get dinner and drinks and watch the nightlife," Sue said. "It's got to be more interesting than sitting at home reading medical journals." Scully started at Sue's perception. Was she a mind reader, or was it so painfully obvious that Scully had no life beyond work. She immediately wanted to say no, but couldn't think of an excuse as to why, so she agreed to go out with Sue.

They finished up their notes, got cleaned up and headed for the door.

"Before we go much further," Sue said, "do you mind if I call you Dana? It feels so weird calling you Scully."

"Only if I can call you Sue," Dana said back. She wasn't normally this flip with people. What was happening to her?

"I'd expect you to," Sue said, smiling at Dana. The woman's smile had something behind it that Scully couldn't identify. If she had seen the same smile on a man, she would swear that he was flirting with her, but from a woman? Sue was a lesbian but Scully was straight, did Sue know this?

"Why do you and Agent Mulder refer to each other by last name only? If you don't mind me asking," Sue said. Scully was relieved that Sue had continued speaking because she realized that she had been staring at the blond woman.

"Because Mulder hates his first name." It slipped out before she had the chance to stop it. It wasn't common knowledge and she felt guilty to expose one of Mulder's secrets to this woman. She silently prayed that Sue would never bring it up to Mulder or he'd kill her.

"Why on earth would he hate a name that so appropriately describes him," Sue wondered aloud. Scully felt a pang of jealousy at her words. It seemed that everyone mooned over Mulder and the only attention Dana got was from delusional divorcees and Frohike. But why was she getting jealous of how another woman, a lesbian, felt about her partner? It didn't make any sense in her mind.

Christ, she thought, I have no idea what I'm thinking. But she did. Somewhere in the back of mind, she wanted Sue to flirt with her. She wanted it desperately.

* * *

The bar wasn't what Dana was expecting. It was rather quiet, smoke-free and pleasantly bright. She found a table while Sue dashed off to the bathroom. It was then she noticed something odd, there were no men anywhere. She looked all around just to make sure she didn't miss anyone. Still no men. An all women's bar; she didn't even know places like this existed anywhere outside of fiction. The little voice inside of head whispered the words lesbian bar, but Dana ignored it. No, it was just a woman's club, that was all.

"Do you come here often?" Dana asked Sue when she returned, instantly aware of how awful it sounded.

"Is that a pick-up line Dana?" Sue joked back. Dana's face turned white and she started to stammer. Sue just laughed and said, "It was a joke, Dana. Yes, I come here a lot." Dana got herself under control again and started sipping her drink. Sue watched her covertly. Did Dana have any idea how hot she was? Sue doubted that the woman sitting across from her got told that very often. She was an extremely attractive woman and it was a shame that she didn't have someone in her life.

For a brief second, Sue hated the FBI and its effects on a person's private life, her own life had been messed with enough. But she realized that Dana's solitude didn't have much to do with the Bureau. The Bureau didn't effect other people so much, and it couldn't be blamed on the X-Files. Mulder obviously had a life outside, even though he tried to hide it. Sue had been involved in the gay community for a very long time and her "gaydar" went crazy every time she was around the brooding agent. Either he was gay or bi, or she was a very poor judge of people. She preferred the former answer.

But Scully; Scully was a whole other story. Sue believed that the woman was straight. Everything she said and did screamed straight woman yet there was something in her eyes that nagged at the back of Sue's skull. She seemed so open, so willing. Her flustered behavior at Sue's joke belayed some doubt in the red-haired agent's mind. She might have had relationships only with men up until now, but that could change, Sue thought. And it just might change with me! She tried to squelch the thought. She had a job to do and couldn't afford to get wrapped up in a relationship with a fellow agent. It might cloud her judgement.

* * *

Dana realized she had been drinking too much well into her fifth drink. She rarely, if ever, drank alcohol. What was compelling her to do so tonight? She was nervous. Nervous to be out on the town, nervous to be with Sue, and nervous to be in a place like this. The alcohol was helping. Maybe it would calm her nerves enough so that she could enjoy herself. She knew she was past the point of safety but continued to drink anyway. She'd hate herself in the morning.

She had no idea of the time when she tried to stand up. Although her logical mind said that she did in fact stand, Dana found herself still sitting in the chair with the room spinning around her. Her only movement was to look at her watch. 1:25am. She heard the bartender talk about last call coming soon and then was dimly aware that Sue was asking her something.

"Huh?" she said. She was confused. How long had Sue been talking? Dana didn't remember anything from the past hour.

"I asked if you were OK," Sue said. "You look a little flushed."

"I think I had too much to drink," Dana slurred. She felt embarrassed at losing control and was thankful that Mulder wasn't here to see her like this. He'd never let her live it down. She felt Sue help her stand and then take her keys from her.

"Come on," Sue said, "Sleep it off at my place. It's within walking distance." Scully started to protest but the thought of a bed was too appealing. She wanted to sleep so badly.

"My car..." Dana started.

"Will be perfectly safe here," Sue finished. "I know the owners. I've already arranged for it." Scully barely felt the cool evening air as Sue led her down the street. She must have walked most of the way on auto-pilot because the next thing she was aware of, was walking upstairs to an apartment door. Sue led her to a bed and Scully fell down on it without a thought and fell into a drunken sleep.

Sue Kennedy looked at Scully's sleeping form and thought, this is no way to get a lady into your bed. She removed Scully's shoes and debated about undressing her further. She sighed and began pulling off Scully's clothes, rationalizing every bit of the way. Her mission be damned! Nowhere in her agreement had it stated she couldn't have a little fun.

"What a gorgeous woman," Sue said aloud. "Sue Kennedy, you must find one like her for yourself if it's the last thing you ever do." She peeled out of her own clothes and into her sleeping sweats.

"Pleasant dreams Dana Scully," she said as she turned out the lights and lay down beside the sleeping agent.

* * *

Dana's first thought was that someone was hitting her in the head with a large, blunt object. Her second was that her mouth was stuffed with cotton. Then she remembered the alcohol. Damn, she thought. What the hell did I do? She reached for the aspirin on her nightstand only to find that her nightstand had moved.

She opened her eyes to see unfamiliar surroundings and the previous night came back to her. She closed her eyes and offered up a silent prayer that she didn't do anything stupider than getting really drunk. She was mostly undressed and laying in someone else's bed. She turned her head to see if anyone was laying beside her, but she was alone. She was partially disappointed to see no one there. A tingling sensation started between her legs, the feeling of want and desire crept over her body. She reached a hand down to ease the burning when noises came from the other room, sounds of food being prepared. Suddenly her stomach lurched. She scanned the room to see if she could find the bathroom. Luckily it was near the foot of the bed. Stumbling, she made it just in time.

She was splashing her face with cold water when she was aware of someone in the bathroom with her. She looked up into the concerned face of Sue Kennedy. Dana groaned and sat on the toilet lid. First she gets drunk, then finds herself nearly nude and aroused in a fellow agent's bed - a fellow *female* agent's bed. Great way to start your working relationship Scully!

"I take it that you're not hungry?" Sue asked. Even though she had asked quietly, her voice made Scully wince in pain. Dana wondered again for the hundredth time what possessed her to drink last night. It was so out of character for her. Or was it? She thought back to the last time she had really enjoyed herself. She came out of that one almost getting killed and sporting a tattoo. A repressed life can lead to wild times, she thought. Maybe she needed to get out more so she wouldn't do such stupid things.

"Food doesn't sound too appealing," Dana said. "I'm sorry, I don't usually drink. I think I made a fool out of myself last night."

"No you didn't," Sue said. "You needed to get out and forget things, and you did. You probably wouldn't be so sick right now if we had some dinner last night. But, you were drinking on an empty stomach." Dana groaned again. Nice work Doctor Scully, she thought. Forget the first rule of drinking: Never, ever drink on an empty stomach.

"Did you, uh..." Scully asked Sue, indicating her lack of clothes. The tingling down below began again in earnest.

"Yeah," Sue said, "I didn't think you would mind. Taking them off saved them from becoming too wrinkled. I know what a bitch it is trying to get wrinkles out of that perma-press wool." Dana smiled at that. She wouldn't have thought that a lesbian would care about wrinkles. Quit stereotyping her, Dana scolded herself. Sue was just a woman regardless of her sexuality, and a woman who cares about how she looks. Dana squirmed, trying to ignore the desire she felt.

"I'm making you uncomfortable," the blond woman said. It had happened before with other straight women. They were fine around a lesbian until the truth came out, then every friendly word or gesture became threatening to them. Sue didn't want that happening with Dana. She had already fallen for the red-headed agent and whether or not anything came of it, she wanted her for a friend.

"No," Dana disagreed, "I'm making myself uncomfortable." It was the truth. Sue being a lesbian didn't bother her, it was Scully's own feelings towards the other woman that were getting to her. She found herself being aroused by the other woman, a feeling very foreign to her. Dana never paid much attention to her own sexuality very often, preferring to bury herself in her work. "Do you mind if I take a shower?" she asked. Maybe a cold one would shake her out of this.

Sue gave her a towel and robe, showed her where a spare toothbrush was and left Dana to clean up saying, "Just throw your underclothes outside the door. I'll wash them for you so you have clean ones."

Dana allowed cool water to run over her body for several minutes before she turned the heat up. She sat in the shower, the water running around her until her head began to feel better. All the while, she fantasized about what it would be like with another woman. Except for the penetration part, she figured it would be about the same. The idea of having sex without penetration was appealing. Too often, the guy got off and she was left to either suffer without orgasm, fake it, or finish herself off. But with another woman....

She shook herself. You're supposed to be cooling off, not getting hotter and hornier, Scully. She finished her shower quickly and toweled off. Still, going through the routine of brushing her hair and teeth, she found her mind wandering back to her fantasy. The burning between her legs returned again. She inhaled deeply. There was no cure for this except relief.

She sat down on the toilet, spread her legs and reached for her clitoris with her right hand. There would be no self teasing or foreplay this time. She needed to come, to get it over with so she could continue through the rest of the day. She found that she was already very wet and sensitive.

Dana rubbed the head until she found which area was the most sensitive and the began the repetitive circular motion around that spot. Her left hand went to her breast and teased the nipple there, causing it to rise and meet her touch. She could feel the warm, tickling sensation of an orgasm building already in her, waiting to explode. She continued her rubbing, pausing only now and again to gather more of the slick moisture collected around her vagina for lubricant. Her finger instinctively finding its way back to the precise spot of pleasure.

Her breath was coming fast now and a fine mist of perspiration appeared on her forehead. So soon now. It was almost here. She sped up the pace, not caring if her fingernail occasionally scratched the reactive nodule, it only added to the pleasure.

Then all at once, it happened. The explosion in her body, brain and clitoris occurred with a heavy shudder and she felt the heated passion move from deep within her womb, through, and finally out her body. She lay against the back of the toilet, only the muscles inside and on one leg twitching in aftershocks. Each twitch bringing a weakening reminder of the orgasm.

It was a few minutes before she could move again. Amazingly, her headache was almost gone. She washed her hands, put on the robe Sue gave her, and went out to find the other woman. She was ready for whatever the day might bring and determined to take advantage of it.

* * *

Sue had been around enough sexually aroused women in her life that she knew Scully was standing behind her by the musk her body was exuding. Sue smiled to herself. So what had you so bothered Dana that you had to take care of it in the bathroom, she thought. Sue was prepared to just go on through the day pretending not to know what Scully had been up to. She didn't want to embarrass her. She wasn't prepared for the sight that she faced when she turned around to greet her though.

Scully stood facing Sue with her hair slicked and combed back, bathrobe on but undone in front and a look of take-me-please written all over her face. Sue swallowed hard. Dana Scully was an intensely sensuous creature! She didn't know what to do. Taking advantage of a fellow agent was frowned on by the Bureau.

Dana didn't give Sue a lot of time to think about anything though before she moved across the room and took Sue into an embrace. She didn't kiss her, just held on tightly. Sue tentatively put her arms around her to complete the embrace. Her own breath had become labored by the proximity of Dana's flesh pressed against her own. Sue wanted nothing more than to bury her head into the taller woman's breasts and not come up for air again. She held back though, not sure of where Dana's mind was. Was she just looking for womanly affection or did she really want sex? Sue hated not knowing how to read straight (or mostly straight) women. If she had another dyke in her arms like this, she'd have no problem reading the pose to mean fuck me now!

Dana just held Sue and listened to her breathe. She wanted Sue to start something because Dana was to unsure to start it herself. She was sure that she wanted this, just not positive if she would be doing it right. After a few moments, Sue still hadn't done anything. She was probably fearful that Dana didn't know what she wanted.

Taking a chance, Dana kissed Sue on the neck. She breathed in the powdered fragrance of Sue's skin; so unlike that of a man's. As she kissed her, she felt Sue's hands move over her body in response. Their lips met and a passion that Dana didn't know she possessed, flowed into the kiss.

The kiss shocked Sue. It was so electric, so full of desire that it was hard to believe it came from a reserved woman like Dana. Sue returned the kiss with an equal passion. Dana did want it and had been willing to make the first few moves to prove it. Sue was all to happy to oblige her.

Dana broke off the kiss with a sharp gasp when Sue found her nipples. Sue took them gently and rolled them between her fingers, tugging, pulling and pinching at the same time. Sue then bent her head down to take one of the aching nipples into her mouth. Dana threw her head back as Sue sucked on her breast. Her lips were so insistent and so silky against the pillow of flesh. Dana's hand move to bury itself in Sue's hair, undoing the braid and letting it fall around her shoulders. The feel of the smooth, soft hair tickling her belly and thighs was delicious. Dana felt her legs get shaky again, she needed to sit down. She felt around for something to sit on but the only thing she found was the kitchen counter.

Dana moved to sit on the counter but the robe caught on a handle. Sue deftly took the robe off without breaking her contact with Dana's breast. She then helped Dana sit on the counter.

The shock of the cold tile against her buttocks made Dana gasp again. It was such a guilty pleasure to sit nude on the counter. Sue continued to suck on her breast but brought her right hand down to gently part Dana's legs. Dana spread them wide and set her heels on the edge of the counter, opening herself fully for whatever Sue had in mind.

Sue switched to Dana's neglected breast so that she could manipulate the other one with her free hand. She then began a slow circular tracing of Dana's genitals with her finger, starting with the outside and slowly spiraling inward until the inner lips parted and invited her finger in. She inserted her index finger and withdrew it several times which made Dana sigh with pleasure. She brought the finger to her mouth so that she could taste Dana's juices. Dana whimpered at the withdrawal, so Sue put her finger back into the woman and began a rhythmic moderate thrusting. She used her thumb to stroke Dana's clitoris, carefully orchestrating both moves to bring maximum pleasure.

Dana found that she was having trouble thinking. The waves of gratification were covering her. The slow assault on her body was unlike anything she had ever experienced before. She had come close to total gratification before by herself, but never succeeded. Male lovers had tried, but their efforts had been so clumsy. How could you explain what was needed where, when they had no clue. This though, this was pure heaven. Sue knew every nerve, every erogenous spot, and every trigger to make her body quake.

The blond woman now had two fingers inside of her and was pressing one upwards on the small bone area behind her clitoris. The pressure of both areas being pushed together was like an explosion. Dana's body rocked back and she screamed with joy.

Sue didn't stop there though. The minute she felt Dana's body buck, she dropped down and began to slurp up Dana's swollen clitoris while still fingering her. The sensation of the woman's tongue on her drove Scully wild. The climax hadn't peaked yet. It just kept happening in stronger waves. Just as she thought she had reached the crest of one, another one began even stronger.

She rocked her hips savagely to keep up with Sue's thrusting fingers and to keep the waves of orgasm coming. She kept climbing and climbing. Unexpectedly, millions of lights filled her vision and every single nerve and hair on her body screamed at once. Her whole body felt bathed in a warm gel that filled and electrified her. She was aware that Sue was still licking her although more gently and that somewhere a phone was ringing.

Dana leaned back against the cabinet and was silently amazed that she hadn't cracked her head against it with all her jumping around. The tile beneath her was slippery with her fluids and sweat. She moved her head lazily to look out the kitchen window while she came back to her senses. Eventually Sue stopped her kisses and moved into Dana's line of sight.

A face filled with tired fulfillment looked back at her and smiled. Sue moved in and kissed Dana gently on the lips which Dana sleepily returned. They embraced quietly again. Neither one wanting to move.

"Thank you," Dana whispered into Sue's hair. She felt so at peace with herself. What had occurred between them was right and good. Had she been asked if she felt that way last week, Dana would have said no. Sex with another person out of wedlock was a sin in Dana's Catholic upbringing; sex with another person of the same gender was an abomination. Scully had never been deeply religious, science was too important to her, but how could something that felt so right be considered so wrong by other's of her faith? She resolved never to discuss this with her mother or brothers. They wouldn't understand.

Sue wondered at Scully's thanks. She had never been thanked after sex before. It was odd. Before she could respond though, the phone rang, startling both women out of their reverie. Sue reluctantly moved to pick it up.

"Hello?" she said into the receiver. She looked at Scully as she listened to the voice on the other end, her eyes going wide. "Uh, yeah," she said, "here she is." Sue handed to phone to Dana and mouthed the word Mulder.

Dana looked at her a second or two before taking the phone. What the hell was she going to say to him?

"Yeah Mulder," Dana said. She tried to keep her voice from shaking too much.

"Jeez Scully," her partner said, "I've been trying to find you everywhere. You didn't call me back last night. I was beginning to wonder if you were in an accident or something."

"I'm fine Mulder," she reassured him, "what's wrong?" He wouldn't have called around looking for her if something wasn't up.

"Another body was found matching the description of Senator Harley." Mulder gave her all the details of where the body was so she and Sue could meet him there. "They're saving the body for you to do the autopsy Scully." His voice was full of excitement the way it always was when he was faced with the possibility of something paranormal or alien.

"We'll be right there," Scully said before hanging up the phone. Mulder hadn't acted as if he knew what had occurred between her and Sue. Maybe he thought they had just worked through the night. She certainly hoped so. She didn't want Mulder to know about her private life just yet.

* * *

Scully was very un-Scullyish when she walked through the doors of the autopsy room. Her hair was pulled back into a sloppy ponytail and she was in a purple sweat suit. Sue didn't look much more prepared. Mulder figured that they had been working very late on the DNA analysis. Still though, Scully was always prepared to work late. He shrugged it off and put it down to his overactive imagination.

Both Scully and Sue began to look at the body and run tests. Mulder noticed that Scully was trying to hide the looks of amazement that kept crossing her face. She was really confused and puzzled about something.

"Mulder, have fingerprints been taken yet?" she asked. So far, this body looked exactly like Senator Harley's. The only difference being that this one had not been in the water and had no signs of heart problems.

"I thought you'd never ask," he said pulling out the slides. "They were taken, and they match the ones from the other body - exactly!" Scully and Sue both moved in for a closer look at the two sets of prints. It was physically impossible for two people to have the same set of fingerprints. Even identical twins had differences.

"What did she die of Scully?" Mulder asked. If this one died of heart failure also, it would be just too weird.

"That's part of the problem Mulder," Scully said. "This body has an absence of clinical symptoms. No pathology." At Mulder's confused look she added, "I can't find a cause of death."

Mulder just stared at her for a moment. He was actually stumped. None of this made any sense to him.

"Did you find anything in the X-Files that resembles this Mulder?" Scully asked. She knew he had more that he hadn't told her yet.

"Nothing quite like this one, but I did find some things about Senator Harley that are very interesting," he said. "She was one of identical twins."

Scully looked at her partner and waited for the rest of it. If Senator Harley did in fact have an identical twin, it would solve the mystery right now. The only strange thing would be that the two women had identical fingerprints. The scientific community might balk at that, but it was undeniable. "Anything else," Scully asked.

"Nothing of major importance except that her twin died at birth," Mulder said. If her twin had died at birth, Scully's theory was totally wrong and the case was back in Mulder's court of the unexplained. She felt he had deliberately drawn out the revelation of information on purpose.

"Well, if it's not her twin, then who is it?" Scully asked. She was annoyed. She didn't want to be here right now discussing paranormal events with Mulder. It was a Saturday and she shouldn't be leaning over a cadaver right now. She wanted to be somewhere, anywhere, alone with Sue.

"I was hoping you two could shed some light on it," Mulder said. "I personally think that it's a clone. I have reason to believe that the government has had the technology to clone people for years." Scully rolled her eyes heavenward. Mulder had become obsessed with this cloning idea ever since he had supposedly run across a colony of them with Jeremiah Smith. Scully didn't know what to believe.

"Well, I could do some DNA analysis on this body and see," Sue said. "If it is a clone, the DNA would match exactly." For once, Mulder seemed glad that she was around. "If it doesn't match, at least it clears up that portion of the mystery." Scully agreed to go along with the testing again, sure that they wouldn't match. She took more blood samples and handed them to Sue.

A while later, all three agents stood looking at the gels. To Mulder, they looked alike, but he admitted he had no idea what he was seeing. Scully wasn't sure of everything she was looking at either so she waited for Sue to finish her analysis.

"I hate to disappoint you Mulder, but these two patterns are not the same," Sue said. "They are very much alike but something is wrong here." She indicated a spot on the gel. "The first body had a fragile site on the P arm, the second body does not. It's very strange because there is a different X chromosome inactivation pattern between these two bodies." Mulder looked at her as if she were speaking a foreign language.

"What that means is, that these are two different women, not clones. They do however show all the signs of being identical twins. The only difference between the two being the fragile site on the X chromosome of one of the bodies." Sue flipped through the medical records of Senator Harley looking for something in particular.

"Dana, did the second body ever show signs of giving birth?" she asked unaware that she used Scully's first name. Mulder caught it though.

"I didn't check, but I can. Why?" Scully asked.

"Because it states in her records that the Senator had a profoundly retarded son who died when he was a baby. The fragile site would be the cause. I'm just curious to see if the second body shows any signs of bearing children." Sue was jotting down notes for herself. "Could you get some ovarian tissue samples from both bodies for me?"

Scully said that she could. "What are you going to be doing?" she asked.

"If Agent Mulder will agree, he and I will be looking for the supposed deceased infant body of Senator Harley's twin sister."

**

Since Senator Harley's parents were both deceased, Mulder and Sue had to obtain permission to exhume the body of the infant from Mr. Harley. He was reluctant to give it.

"I don't understand," the man said, "The body in the river was my wife according to the police. They said that someone had been impersonating her for the last week." He was distraught and confused. Mulder was about to tell him what they had found when Sue stepped in.

"I'm sorry about your loss Mr. Harley, but there had been some new evidence that shows the woman impersonating your wife was in fact your wife's twin sister," She said. Mulder was going to have to explain the rules to her soon. She was stepping on his toes too often.

"But that's impossible," he said, " her sister died at birth."

"The records show that Mr. Harley," Mulder said, "but we need to make sure. Please, we need to exhume the body and run tests. We can not determine exactly who the impersonator was until we do so." Mr. Harley looked sad and tired as he thought it over, but he finally agreed to allow the exhumation.

The casket revealed the remains of an infant. Sue took a few different samples from the remains and allowed the casket to be closed again. Back at the lab, she amplified the X chromosomes of all three bodies so that she had more to work with and began her analysis again. What she found was amazing.

"Mulder," Sue said, "the patterns of the infant and the second body are one and the same! We have to get Dana in here." Mulder noticed that she had referred to Scully as Dana twice now. Had the two women become friends last night? Mulder hoped not, he still didn't trust Sue.

Dana showed up a few minutes after Mulder called her. She carried with her complete reports on both bodies and a worried expression on her face.

"Mulder, were you two approached by anyone while you were out?" she asked. When Mulder said no, Scully filled them both in on a strange visit. A man named Peter Brown with a hospital ID had entered the autopsy room to ask what she was doing. When she showed him her ID and explained that she was performing an autopsy, he had calmly warned her to quit what she was doing and forget about going any further. He then left without any explanation. The situation had unnerved her. Sue looked rather startled.

"Mr. Harley seemed rather reluctant to let us continue also," Sue offered. "I keep wondering if there has been some sort of cover-up going on for a long time that we stumbled across." Mulder voiced the same suspicion.

"Cover-up or not," Scully said, "I think we should be careful with proceeding. Someone is uncomfortable with what we are doing." They all agreed that caution would be advisable.

All three worked on documenting their findings very carefully and completing the analysis of the three bodies. Scully had to admit that she had no explanation as to why or how the samples from the second body and the infant one could match. For once she began thinking that Mulder had found a truly unusual case that she couldn't explain away.

It was almost 8:00pm when her stomach growled really loudly. Dana realized that she hadn't eaten since lunch the previous day. "I've got to stop for a while and get something to eat," she said aloud. "Anyone want to join me?" Both Mulder and Sue agreed to, so all three agents left their work behind and went off to get dinner.

Sue offered to drive since Scully's car was still in the parking lot of the bar. The fact that Scully had rode in with Sue made him wonder again what had occurred the night before. Neither of the women were acting suspicious but the circumstances were a little strange.

During dinner, Mulder asked the inevitable question, "How did you get assigned to the X-Files?" He still hadn't found anything in his research that answered that question.

"I don't know really," Sue said. "I was expecting to be assigned to something like criminal investigations with my background. I fully expected to be researching bloody gloves and the like for the rest of my career." Either she was a very well-trained liar, or she really believed what she was saying because Mulder was watching for any tell tale signs of deception and found none. "I pissed off so many of my instructors that I expected to be paying penance until I retired."

"This assignment came as a shock," Sue continued. "I'd heard about the X-Files at Quantico. Everyone hears about them sooner or later. I always thought that the Bureau was embarrassed about them so when I heard they were assigning me, it was a surprise."

"What do you mean everyone hears about them?" Mulder asked. He knew that his name was tossed about a lot, but the files?

"Well, it seems that someone inevitably brought up unexplained cases which always lead to discussion of 'Spooky' Mulder and his X-Files. For the entire time I was at Quantico, some wise-ass always made a point to make sure everyone knew about them." Sue munched on her sandwich for a moment. "I was fascinated with the idea of the X-Files but when I made any inquiries about them, I got laughed out of the room or told to mind my own business. I gave up even trying after a while. My last stab at trying to shake things up was writing my paper on what I believed were extra-terrestrial genetics."

"Who approached you about working with us?" Mulder asked. Maybe she was being used after all.

"The Senior Director and a couple of other men who I didn't recognize, nor did they introduce themselves," Sue said. "I just remember that one of the men was a chain smoker. He completely disregarded the no-smoking signs in the Director's office." Mulder and Scully exchanged knowing looks. Cancerman was involved in this, and where he was, the Consortium was also.

"Did they give you any explanation as to why they were assigning you here?" Scully asked. Sue looked thoughtful for a minute.

"No," she said. "Or if they did, I missed it. I was a little excited and surprised to hear of my assignment and could have missed something."

"Do you know who Alex Krycek is?" Mulder asked. Scully shot him an evil look. What was he getting at?

"Oh, Mr. Everyone-in-the-world-should-love-me-because-I'm-so beautiful Krycek?" Sue said, heavy with the sarcasm. "Yeah, I met him once or twice. We took a class together. Mr. Pretty Boy didn't like to take no for an answer." Her tone revealed that she had more encounters with Krycek than she cared to.

"Did he ever follow my work or support anything I did?" Mulder asked. Scully was still confused. They both knew very well what a rat Krycek was. Why was he still pursuing this?

"No. As a matter of fact, he set out to debunk a lot of things. He was always trying to impress people by making fun of your work. Why?" Sue asked. "I mean, he's now wanted for murder and treason." Mulder ignored her question but was now firmly convinced that Sue was innocent. Even so, he decided to ask her one more question.

"Do you believe in extra-terrestrials?" Scully kicked him under the table. Had she been wearing her usual dress shoes, the kick would have hurt, but she was wearing sneakers. The blow bounced off his leg painlessly.

"The existence of them or the common stories of gray-skinned, big-eyed ones?" Sue asked back.

"Either." Sue thought for while before answering. She didn't want to hurt his feelings or cause an argument. She just wasn't in the mood to create waves right now.

"I believe that we are not alone in the Universe," Sue said carefully choosing her words, "but the idea that other species looking like the 'Communion" alien are highly unlikely. I have real trouble believing that they'd look anything like us at all." She stopped again for a moment. "I believe Agent Mulder, but until I can hold the scientific proof in my hands, or see it with my own eyes, I can't hope to expect others to."

Seeing Mulder's face harden, Sue continued. "I haven't seen the things you have. Nor have I had any experiences of my own. So far my involvement into the unknown has been on the tourist level. I haven't lived any of it. I'm hoping that while working with you, I can have some of those experiences myself. Unlike a lot of people, I have no religion to believe in. I desperately want something that I can't explain away. I want to have a faith in something I can't see or hold. I want something to believe in."

Scully watched her two partners talk all the while thinking how odd everything was. Sue was like the perfect balance between her own and Mulder's beliefs. Maybe she was what they needed. Scully certainly was enjoying her. She suddenly blushed at the thought and her body reminded her of the wonderful experience she had that morning by sending a shiver down her spine. She mentally undressed Sue and began to imagine what they would the next time they were alone together. For the second time in two days, Scully found herself being asked a question while her mind was wandering.

"Huh?" she said. Mulder screwed up his face at her apparent lack of interest in the conversation.

"Falling asleep on us Scully?" he asked. She looked dreamy, an expression he was not used to seeing on her.

"Uh, yeah," she said. "I am rather tired. I think I should get home and uh, get some sleep." Like she was going to do any sleeping tonight. Ha! If she had her way, she might fall asleep, but only after she was thoroughly exhausted.

Mulder noticed her hesitation and for the first time began to put the pieces together. It couldn't be, could it?

They left the restaurant and headed back to drop Mulder off at his car. Mulder said goodnight to Sue and then hugged Scully. He spoke in her ear, "will you be home tonight or should I try you on your cell phone if something comes up?" Scully said she would have her cell phone with her. She turned to leave when he whispered, "Have fun." She turned to him in shock, but he was already getting into his car and driving away.

"What now?" Sue asked Scully after she hopped into the Sidekick.

"I'd like to spend the evening with you, if you want to," Dana said. "I need to get a few things like some clothes and my car first, but from there..." She let her words trail off in order to give Sue an out if she needed one.

"I'd like that," Sue said, " do you want to go back to my place or yours?" God, she couldn't believe her luck. Not only had Dana surprised her this morning, but she wanted it to continue. Sue was deliriously happy. Any ideas floating around about betraying her assignment flitted away.

They agreed to stop off at Sue's to pick up clothes and toiletries, pick up Dana's car and then head to her house for the evening.

Once back at Dana's the women settled in by getting comfortably dressed. They relaxed on the couch, chatting idly about the days events.

"Mulder figured us out, didn't he," Sue asked. You can't hide from another homo, she quipped inwardly.

"Well, they don't call him Spooky for nothing," Dana joked, mirroring Mulder's own words spoken almost a week ago. "He's pretty perceptive."

"Is he gay?" Sue asked. Seeing Dana stiffen at the questions she immediately added, "you don't have to answer that Dana. My 'gaydar' just goes nuts around him." Though she guessed that at Dana's reluctance to answer, she was right. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked."

"No, its alright," Dana said, "it's just that his reputation would be made only worse if word were to get out." She wondered about her own reputation for a moment. She didn't think that she had as much to lose as Mulder would be but it still wouldn't be taken well. Relationships between agents happened all of the time. Dana knew that many in the Bureau thought that she and Mulder were an item. She let them think that. It was better than having them guess the truth. Still, if they were to find out she was in a relationship with another woman, things could only be worse.

"Are you OK with what happened this morning?" Sue asked. She needed to know. If Dana was regretting her actions at all, it was best to know about it now before Sue became too emotionally invested in the beautiful agent.

"Amazingly, yes," Dana said. "I've continuously asked myself how I felt all day. I kept expecting to feel guilt or shame over what happened and I don't. In fact, I've never felt so sure about anything like this before. I really enjoyed myself and I hope to repeat the experience and hopefully learn to reciprocate."

"I can arrange that," Sue quipped. "Would you like to take a shower with me?" she asked seductively. "I can show you some interesting tricks with water."

Dana didn't answer. She just pulled Sue into the bathroom and started the water. Sue found herself amazed again. Peel away the inscrutable outer shell and Dana Scully was a tigress.

Dana pulled off her clothes quickly and turned to face a stunned Sue. If she had ever had any doubts that she was attractive, the doubt vanished with Sue's appreciative gaze. She moved to undress Sue but was stopped at arms length.

"I just want to look at you for a moment," Sue said. She walked around Dana, treasuring every curve. Her pert breasts were in perfect symmetry with her rounded hips and beautiful legs. Her stomach had the slightly round pouch that many renaissance painters captured so well on their subjects. Sue reached up and undid the hair band allowing Dana's hair to fall to her shoulders. Sue breathed deep. Dana Scully was one very fine woman!

Sue placed a gentle hand on Dana's hip and caressed the curve, trailing her fingers down across her buttocks and then back up to trace the outline of her tattoo. She went down on one knee to get a better look at the artwork and to kiss Dana on the smooth skin of her back. She found herself wanting to cover her body with kisses.

Dana gasped at the sensual kiss on her back and was pleased when the kisses continued across her hips and buttocks. No other lover had done this to her. She enjoyed being the center of attention. She felt Sue place a hand between her legs and stroke the silky flesh of her thighs. Sue's hand snaked out from behind and between to play with Dana's pubic hair. Dana's own hands began to tease her nipples

Dana looked at herself in the mirror. She resemble an Indian goddess with four arms in various poses. The goddess of sensualism would be an appropriate description. She was brought out of her reverie by noticing that Sue was still fully clothed. That would need to be taken care of now.

Dana pulled away so that she could begin to undress the kneeling woman. She reached down to grasp the edges of Sue's shirt in order to pull it over her head. As she did so, her breasts dangled seductively in front of Sue's face and she couldn't help but instantly latch onto one. Dana only made her break contact for a second to pull the rest of the shirt off. She then helped Sue stand and undid the fasteners of her pants. Dana slid her hands across the roundness of Sue's ass while pushing the pants off. She found her hands mimicking the moves Sue had made on her own body just moments before.

The cool, hairless skin of a woman was so different than what Dana was used to. She was also unfamiliar with being allowed to touch her lover. The previous men she had dated were the ones to take control. She gloried in the reversal of roles and couldn't wait until she could reciprocate Sue's ministrations.

As soon as Sue was undressed, Dana moved her towards the running water. She had ulterior motives for getting into the shower. The surface motive was to get cleaned up from a long day, the hidden one was to experiment with some of Sue's veiled insinuations. They climbed into the shower and took turns getting wet. Dana then produced a liquid soap and lathered Sue up. Soon, both women, fully lathered, began to sensually rub their bodies together. The feeling was intense. Dana's found her thoughts suddenly wondering if this was why people like oil wrestling so much. She could only imagine what it would be like to be surrounded by slippery bodies touching her all over. With the thought, her already aroused body shuddered with renewed fire.

Sue felt the shudder and smiled. She too was becoming extremely aroused. It had been a long time since she had someone. College and the Academy had taken too much of her time. She moved Dana into the water to rinse away most of the soap and rinsed herself off as well. Sue gently took Dana to her knees. She switched off the shower head and adjusted the temperature coming out of the tap. The water couldn't be too warm or it would be too uncomfortable on Dana. She instructed Dana to sit on the floor of the tub facing the faucet and sat down behind her. Moving them both so that Dana's legs were wide spread, Sue positioned her genital region directly under the flow of water.

Dana's head moved back in ecstasy. She couldn't believe that she had never discovered this before on her own. The water was gentle yet very insistent as it flowed over her clitoris and into the opening of her vagina. Sue played with her nipples as she held her. The water flowing into her and Sue's attentive stroking were incredible. Warmth spread over her and she felt a rolling orgasm begin. It radiated slowly though out her body in small, delightful waves. It was nothing like the earlier orgasm, but it was very gratifying.

She allowed her body to relax back into Sue's arms when the last ripple faded. After a moment, she realized that again Sue had done all of the work and Dana felt acutely embarrassed at not reciprocating. When she voiced her apology, Sue just smiled and said that they would continue in the bedroom. Dana agreed, seeing how wrinkled their skin had become by staying in the water too long.

Sue laid back on the bed watching Dana finish toweling off. Dana was so receptive, relishing in every new sensation. She reminded Sue of a cat, a completely sensuous creature that was so much fun to pet and truly appreciated every touch. She almost swore that Dana had been purring once or twice. What surprised her though was that Dana was intent on giving back what she had received. If only everyone in this world were so concerned for their lover's happiness, Sue thought. It was a rarity.

Dana looked at Sue laying on the bed and planned her course of action. She had performed oral sex on men before but never really enjoyed it. She had no frame of reference for women. Just do what you like to have done, she told herself. You can't go wrong with that.

She got onto the bed and rolled Sue over on her stomach. A nice massage was always a good way to begin. She kneaded the flesh of Sue's back, buttocks and legs, pausing every once in a while to kiss a curve. Sue began to moan softly before Dana had even started on her front. So far, so good.

Sue's eyes were closed as she rolled over. Dana covered her face with light kisses as she massaged her arms and breasts. Her mouth followed her hands all the way down Sue's torso, down and up one leg and then repeating on the next. When Dana finished, she had only one area yet to touch. Sue's legs were already parted in anticipation.

Dana delicately spread Due's outer lips open to survey the folding petals beneath. She lay her head against Sue's thigh and traced all the patterns the flesh made. Sue shuddered with every touch. Dana experimentally inserted a finger into the opening not surprised to find Sue already hot and wet. She had examined female patients and bodies before but this was so different. Instead of trying to avoid and areas of sensation, she set out to find them all.

She wriggled her finger deeper inside of Sue and was pleased with the moan of pleasure that she received. Dana noticed that Sue's clitoris was peaking out of the hood of flesh that normally covered it. She ran her thumb over it and Sue sucked in her breath. Dana remembered what Sue had done early, rubbing her clit and thrusting with her fingers at the same time. She practiced the move on Sue and received another positive moan.

Dana leaned in closer and experimentally tasted the flesh around Sue's clitoris. It tasted a little like soap and salt. She allowed her tongue to encircle the hardened knob again. Sue moaned louder and spread her legs as wide as she could. Feeling more confident, Dana lapped her tongue lower to meet with her fingers. She licked Sue like a cat lapping milk. Sue was squirming wildly on the bed. Dana took this as a good sign and continued her efforts.

She inserted another finger into Sue and began to pump her again while concentrating her suckling on her clit. She breathed in the soapy clean smell of Sue's flesh and rubbed her face in the downy fuzz of her pubic hair. The sensations drove Sue over the edge. Her vaginal walls clamped around Dana's fingers in a sucking motion as she came. She wasn't aware that she was moaning loudly. It had much too long of a time.

Scully gazed at her from below with a wicked grin on her face. "Was it good for you?" she asked. Sue wondered where the sense of humor had been hiding. She was so exhausted that all she could do was nod. Sue watched in amazement as Dana brought her fingers to her lips and licked her juices from them. Sue had seen the move before in porn flicks and it never stimulated her before. Seeing Dana do it now turned her on.

Dana surprised herself doing it, but it tasted good and was obviously turning Sue on. She licked her fingers slowly, looking at Sue the entire time. She had always wanted to play the bad girl. Something her Catholic upbringing brought the desire out. Sue seemed to be enjoying her little act as well. She would have continued if Sue's eyelids hadn't been drooping sleepily. It had been a very long day.

Dana sneaked a glance at the clock, it read 2:17am. What seemed like only an hour or so had actually been close to three! No wonder Sue was sleepy. Dana snuggled up against the other woman for a moment. She cursed silently when she realized the lights were still on. She got up quickly and shut them off, bolted the door and climbed back into bed. Sue rolled into her cuddling up behind. Dana relaxed into her embrace and was asleep within minutes.

* * *

Dana's cell phone chirped. She rolled over to look at the clock. 4:30am. She had only about two hours of sleep. Sue didn't even move as the phone chirped again. Dana swore that she was going to kill Mulder one of these days.

"What is it Mulder," she answered.

"Agent Scully." It took Dana a second or two to realize that it was Skinner on the phone. "Agent Mulder and I are at the lab. There's been a problem. I need you and Agent Kennedy down here as soon as possible."

"What kind of problem?" she asked. Sue stirred at her side.

"Someone broke in and destroyed evidence." Scully swore loudly, full waking up Sue and shocking Skinner.

"We'll be down in a minute." She hung up the phone and explained what happened to a sleepy Sue. Both women quickly pulled on their clothes and ran for the door. Sue's mind was racing in a million directions. It was too soon, somebody jumped the gun!

Skinner and Mulder were in a heated conversation with some of the hospital officials and security officers when Dana and Sue arrived. It appeared that they too had been pulled out of bed unexpectedly. Mulder was in rumpled jeans and a sleeveless Oxford sweat shirt and Skinner was in USMC gray sweats. Scully and Sue weren't in much better. All four were tired and cranky.

"What do you mean the surveillance tapes show nothing. Do you think the evidence got up and walked out on its own?" Mulder asked, his voice getting squeaky with frustration. The security officer just shrugged his shoulders and mumbled something about faulty wiring causing the recorders to malfunction.

"What happened?" Dana asked Skinner. She thought that he might be able to give a more precise answer than Mulder at this moment. Sue went off to check in the lab for anything that the perpetrators may have missed.

"Someone came in and either took or destroyed all of the evidence, including the DNA tests and all three bodies," Skinner said. He pulled his glasses off of his face and placed his palms against his eyes. "One of the night janitors notified the security guards of a fluid spill in the lab as is procedure. When one of the interns came down to check it out, he noticed that the bodies were gone and the lab ransacked. He immediately contacted Agent Mulder."

"Did anyone see anything?" Dana asked.

"No," Skinner sighed. "The surveillance tapes are full of static and no one saw anything unusual." Scully filled him in on her unusual visit from Peter Brown earlier. "Agent Mulder mentioned this. The hospital has no one named Peter Brown on record. Can you give a description to the officer in charge. This mysterious visitor is our only lead right now." Scully agreed to do so.

Sue returned with a despondent look. "All of the gels are gone. So is all of the amplified matter. They took everything and destroyed or contaminated everything else in the room." She looked ready to cry. Scully knew how she felt because she was ready to cry herself. All of the work they had done destroyed again. Couldn't they get through one case without having their work belittled or destroyed?

Dana found the officer in charge and gave him a description of Peter Brown, not really expecting them to find anyone. She now knew how frustrating it was for Mulder. She didn't know how her partner dealt with missing or stolen evidence like this all the time. She watched him argue with the police, security and staff until Skinner had to literally drag him away. Sue stood quietly beside her watching Mulder and Skinner argue quietly. It appeared that Skinner was asking Mulder to drop it for now and that Mulder obviously didn't want to. In the end, Skinner won, for a minute later he and Mulder walked over to where Scully and Sue were standing.

"I'm strongly suggesting that all of you go home," Skinner said. "Get some rest for the rest of today and get as much down on paper that you remember. We'll go over it all tomorrow at 0930. Agreed?" The three despondent agents agreed and left to spend the rest of their black Sunday piecing together a report without any physical evidence.

* * *

Sue slammed her hand down on the table in rage. Scully jumped at the sound. They both were jumpy and agitated. Spending an entire morning, and half of the afternoon, rewriting medical notes based off of memory was no way to spend a Sunday. Sue had to get away for awhile. She grabbed her jacket and told Scully she would return soon and left.

Dana watched her leave. Everyone handled stress in different ways, but she had wished that Sue would stay around. Dana needed someone to hold onto. Mulder and Skinner were probably handling their stress in more creative ways right now. Dana sighed. She had only known Sue for about a week and already found that she wanted to be with her for a long time. The thought scared her in some ways. She had been so self reliant before, and the idea of wanting to give up that total independence frightened her. She would give it up though for the right person. Sue seemed to be that person.

Dana grabbed one of her pillows and wrapped her arms around it. She sat rocking silently, holding back tired tears, wishing the world was an easier place to live.

* * *

Sue walked blindly out of Scully's apartment and ran straight into two men dressed in dark clothing. She recognized them and was in no mood to deal with their questions right now. They'd never told her what really happened in the basement office of the Bureau. If she had known, she would have never accepted the post.

One of them reached for her, but she backed up saying, "Keep your filthy hands off of me. I don't want anything to do with you!" She continued backing up, forgetting her training. A voice behind her made her realize her fatal mistake.

"Come now Agent Kennedy," the voice said. "We had an arrangement. An arrangement in which you have not fulfilled your end of the bargain." She didn't need to turn around to know who it was that spoke. The two men stood very close to her, blocking her way of escape.

"And you didn't give me all the facts that I needed before going into it either!" she spat. Gods above, why had she ever allowed her father to talk her into this. 'It will be good for you Sue,' he had said. 'This will be the way that you can finally clear your name off the black lists for being a lesbian.' The price to become the only "out" dyke in the Bureau was to work for these nameless bastards. She regretted the day she ever agreed. She hadn't expected to like her work, nor her partners. She'd heard so many horror stories about how terrible Mulder was, and that Scully was a first-class bitch. Sue had been genuinely shocked to see that they were likeable and amiable people. She had been doubly surprised to find that she had fallen in love with Scully and that the feelings were returned.

Christ! In only a week, she had become attached to both of them. She didn't want to expose their secrets. She thought desperately to find a way to appease the men who assigned her and still keep Mulder and Scully safe.

"How the hell do you expect me to get you the information you need when your thugs come in and start destroying evidence?" she asked. "I wasn't even finished doing my research."

"Certain items can not fall into agent Mulder's hands," the man said. "You were specifically told that certain findings should be sent only to myself or one of the approved contacts, yet you shared those findings with Agent Mulder. This was a serious breach of national security."

"National Security, my ass!" Sue said. "Nothing that I found could possibly have anything to do with 'national security' and you know it!" She hated these stupid games. The two thugs took a hold of her arms, holding her so she couldn't move. She smelled the man come closer to her, the reek of nicotine assaulted her nose.

"You have made a very serious mistake Agent Kennedy," the man said while exhaling the smoke of a foul cigarette. "Do not make another. You don't want to end up like Agent Krycek now do you?"

"Are you threatening me you bastard?" Sue asked. "If you're even thinking about it, I suggest you remember that I can blow your whole little party if I choose to, and any retaliation would be immediately set on by my family." She knew it was pure bravado, but hopefully it would make him pause.

She just heard him chuckle. "Oh Agent Kennedy, your family doesn't scare me at all," he said. "No, the Kennedy clan has no power over me in the least." With that, he was gone and his two thugs with him.

Sue sat on the steps of her apartment for a very long time crying. She'd sold her soul cheaply, and the devil who held the strings smoked Morleys.

* * *

Addendum to X-File case #4168795, opened by Agent Mulder.

With the physical evidence gone, this agent can only summarize, but not prove, the extraordinary similar findings between body #1, believed to be that of Senator Jane Harley and body #2, her apparent twin sister. The explanation of the infant remains and their equally extraordinary similarities with that of body #2 also still remain a mystery.

Attached are in-depth charts and reports detailing the findings of myself, Agent Mulder and Agent Kennedy. These findings are based solely from memory since any and all physical evidence, including the remains of all three bodies were either completely obliterated or stolen.

With this in mind, this agent believes that case #4168795 can not be closed and must go on record as being unsolved.

Special Agent Dana Scully

* * *

Dana switched off her computer and headed back to bed. Sue had cried herself to sleep in Dana's arms a few hours before. Dana had held her until the blond head had completely nodded off, then she went out to finish her report. Now Dana found herself exhausted and ready for sleep.

She switched off the lights and lay listening to the woman next to her breathe. Tomorrow would be another day, another case. She hoped Sue would get a tougher hide on her. These cases would kill her if she let them get under her skin. Dana knew. She had been there too many times before. She closed her eyes and let the dreams take her.

*****THE END*****

e-mail: with input. Flamers not welcome!


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